Hundred Blades Against One

The war horns rang out in the mountains.

Eris's hold on Leon tightened as darkness began to move within the tents.

Then—

They came out.

Mercenaries one by one stepped out of the tents, each of them wearing red armor, their swords shining in the moonlight. Some held swords, some spears, and some already had their bows set.

Eris looked over the battlefield. At least twenty men.

Too many for her to handle.

"You just had to let one get away," Leon grumbled.

"Shut up and let me think," she growled.

Behind her, the villagers who had been rescued huddled together, their eyes wide with fear.

She had two choices.

Fight and most likely die.

Run and most likely still die.

Neither of them was particularly enticing.

Then—

A booming voice echoed through the night.

"Who dares challenge the Crimson Blades?"

The mercenaries parted, and from the biggest tent, a figure emerged.

He was taller than the rest, his armor darker—almost black rather than red—and half his face hidden behind a metal half-mask.

His right hand rested on the hilt of a great huge sword, its blade inscribed with runes that looked ancient.

She knew him at once.

Draeven the Blackfang.

Second-in-command of the Crimson Blades.

And one of the kingdom's most feared warlords.

Her stomach twisted.

"Eris," Leon grumbled, "this just got worse."

She did. Oh, she did.

But now there was no going back.

Draeven's cold eyes focused on her.

"You," he growled. "I've heard rumors."

Eris cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? I hope they caught my good side."

The mercenaries laughed.

Draeven did not.

"Where is the rest of your army?" he snapped.

Eris blinked. "My. what?"

Draeven's eyes slit. "No reasonable warrior would attack us alone. So where are they?".

"Oh gods," Leon whispered. "He believes you've got backup."

She could work with that.

Eris stood up, sneering. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Draeven's face set in stone.

The mercenaries flinched for the first time.

"Be careful," Leon cautioned. "Bluff too much, and they'll call it."

Eris needed an out. And now.

She gave a sideways glance, her eyes catching the sharp cliff edge a few meters away.

Hazardous.

But she liked hazard.

Draeven stepped forward. "Enough playing games. Kill her."

The mercenaries attacked her.

Eris reacted.

The first attacker struck—

She weaved, turned, and jabbed with a needle-sting of a blow into his ribs.

A second mercenary attacked, carrying an axe—

Parry. Riposte. Blood spattered as his throat was cut.

A third man chopped at her with a sweeping arc of his halberd—

Eris leaped over the attack, striking from behind him, and pushed Leon through his back.

"Three down," Leon said. "Seventeen to go."

No time to hesitate.

Two archers fired—

Eris whirled, one arrow streaking by her ear, the other rasping along her shoulder.

It hurt, but she didn't relent.

Shadow Step!

She was gone, then back behind them—

One head dropped. And another.

"Fifteen," Leon reminded her.

Eris was panting now, her muscles screaming at her to quit.

Too many.

They were too many.

She parried a sword, dodged a spear—

Then a boot crashed into her chest, and she skidded back.

She just managed to catch herself before she fell over the edge of the cliff.

Draeven now towered over her, a steel mountain.

"You fought well," he shrugged. "But here you die."

He brought up his greatsword—

And swung.

Eris just managed to get Leon up in time.

CLANG!

The blow shook her bones, the sheer power sending her flying off her feet.

Her back crashed into the cliffside.

Her vision went blurry.

Draeven walked towards her slowly. "Any last words, girl?"

Eris clenched teeth, struggling to stay on her feet.

Blood trickled from her lip. Her arms shook.

And yet—

She smiled.

"yeah," she rasped. "you should've killed me sooner."

Then, she took a step back.

Off the cliff edge.

---

Wind rushed past Eris as she fell.

The mercenaries' screams receded above her.

"Eris, hope you have an exit strategy!" Leon bellowed.

She did.

Mostly.

The ground approached and approached.

Then—

Shadow Step!

Her body disappeared—

And reappeared in mid-air, closer to a river below.

SPLASH!

Cold water engulfed her, the current immediately dragging her downstream.

Eris fought to surface, gasping for air.

"That was the dumbest thing you've ever done," Leon muttered.

"Shut up," she wheezed.

She let the river carry her, letting exhaustion take over.

She wasn't sure how far she drifted, but eventually—

The current slowed, and she washed up onto a riverbank, coughing up water.

Eris rolled onto her back, staring at the stars above.

She was alive.

Hurt, tired, but alive.

And Draeven was still out there.

Her blood warmed at the idea.

"He's gonna want your head now," Leon growled.

"Yeah," Eris breathed, a wild grin spreading over her lips.

"Good. Because I want his too."